The Lake Charles echo. [volume] (Lake Charles, Parish of Calcasieu, La.) 1876-1898, 1887-10-08
LAKE CHARLES CAICSEU PARISH LOUISIANA SATURDAY OCTOBER
aHkIN GaMANTINal.
San Francisco Examiner,

San Francisco Examiner,
On the 18th of last May Peter McIn-
tyre, who possessed local reputation
as a sprinter, was severely burned in q
fire at Central Park. The burma on his
feet healed rapidly enough, but the flesh
on his shoulders and arms was SO
scorched that the ordinary process Of
nature was insufficient to restore 1t to
its former condition. 1t was deter
mined by the physicians to graft skin
taken from other people on the expos
ed surface, and thus hasten the cure.
Six weeks ago this operation was be-
gun, and since then over leo pieces of
skin have been fastened on raw parts.
1t will be several weeks yet before the
last graft shall have been attached and
the bandsges removed,
All the skin was taken from the
friends of Mcintyre, who willingly
contributed the required portions Of
their outicule. Each graft was cir
cular piece about an eighth of an inch
in diameter, 1t was taken from the
arm, Each subject rolled up his sleeves
in MeIntyre's room, at No, s2a How
ard street, and the surgeon raised the
skin with fne pair of foroops. Then,
with a circular scissors, he clipped the
skin of, leaving q round red mark
on the arm, and Immediately placed
the graft on MoTntyre's wound,
These gratis have been taken from
about forty men. Usually four were
supplied by each, but some of the sick
mans friends have more than that num-
ber of pink marks on their left arms,
The gratis were planted about an inch
apart, as each little piece grows about
that distance over tho flesh and unites
with the other skin that it meeta. 1t
is transferred Immediately from one
body to another, as the tissue must be
imbued with vitality when placed on
the raw flesh, and it would lose all
life in a short time, The foreign char.
acter of the skin may be detected after
the healing process is over, as it does
not change It's particular hue and is also
devoid of hair and sweat glands, lta
advantage is great, iRasmuch as when
such burns cicatFizo the muscles are
drawn up, and not only is movement
restrained, but deformity follows. The
grated skin is elastic and obvistes al
such unpleasant results.
Mcintyre looks anything bat an ath
lete now. He has been a sick mar
since the FIRE, and has fallen away very
much. During the past three days, he
said yesterday, he has eaten nothing
The Ualedonisn club will give him q
benefit Thursday evening
Instances of the grating of many
pieces of skin, as in this case, have no
been common here, The process itsal
is comparatively new, having been dis
covered in 1859 by RiVerden, Pari
sian surgeon. He noticed little lslet
of skin growing on raw surfaces, fount
that they proceeded from little germ
of skin that had not been destroyed
and concluded that trausplanted ski
you'd thrive in the same manner. |
had previously been supposed that i
would take q covering of cuticle a
large as the sore or wound itself t,
make successful grating, and sucl
large areas of skin could not be oh
tanned, Since then the various kind
of skln-the tissue of chickens, frogs
young pigs and other animals-hav
been experimental with, but for sue
ceasfuI transplanting human skin ha
been found necessary.